1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to data retrieval systems. More particularly, it relates to a method and a system for managing and retrieving data within an electronic mail editor and/or an application external of the electronic mail editor.
2. Description of Background Information.
Business information is increasingly communicated by means of electronic mail (hereinafter “e-mail”). This communication of information may relate to business critical issues and may span over numerous e-mail messages over a time period. Generally, e-mail users retain most messages because the messages contain developments, updates, attachment files and history of responses pertaining to a subject.
Often, an e-mail user would still refer to less recent messages on a same subject to locate specific information, or to follow developments on the subject, or to forward a most current information to another user. Such information may include timelines, meeting details, particulars of customers and change requests on software release. To locate certain information on a subject, a user may sort messages according to subject heading or sender. Thereafter, he identifies relevant messages and accesses the messages separately. Since e-mail messages usually comprise of free-form text, the user may have to read the message contents of several messages in detail before locating the information he requires. Further, since contents of e-mail messages are static, contents of less recent messages may reflect outdated information. Hence, the user may need to compare information between two or more messages to identify the most up-to-date information.
In existing e-mail editors, a user generally locates information using the above-described method. Although most users have accustomed to using this method, it is tedious to repeat this time-consuming procedure each time a user wishes to locate a piece of information. Furthermore, a user may, due to oversight or urgency of time, incorrectly identify the required or most current information. Accordingly, a method and a system for managing and retrieving information are needed.